The invention relates to a bird feeder and in particular a feeder for niger seed and other seeds for small birds such as Goldfinches.
It is known to provide a bird feeder for feeding niger seeds to Goldfinches which feeder comprises a body for housing the bird seed, a perch attached to the body and a slot positioned approximately 1 inch (2.54 cm) directly above the perch, wherein the slot is approximately 2 mm wide by 10 mm long.
This type of feeder is only found to be suitable for Goldfinches and is not thought to be particularly attractive to other types of small bird.
An object of the invention is to provide an improved bird feeder for small birds. An object of the invention is to provide a bird feeder being more attractive to and easier to use for Goldfinches, Tits and other small birds.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a bird feeder comprising a body for housing bird seed, a perch for a bird, attached to the body, and an aperture in the body proximal the perch to allow access to the feed wherein the aperture is above and offset to one side of the perch
Another aspect of the invention provides a bird feeder comprising a body for housing bird seed, a perch for a bird and an aperture in the body proximal the perch to allow access to the feed, wherein the aperture is substantially circular. In this arrangement the aperture can be directly above the perch. perch to allow access to the feed, wherein the aperture is above and offset to one side of the perch. An aperture can be positioned on either or both sides.
Preferably the centre of the or both aperture(s) is/are offset or displaced a distance (S) greater than 0 from the centre line of the perch and preferably greater than 5 mm and/or the radius of the aperture. Preferably the offset (S) is less than or approximately equal to 50 mm, more preferably less than or approximately equal to 25 mm and more preferably still within the range of 10-20 mm. The preferred form of offset (S) is approximately 13 mm.
Preferably the centre of the aperture is a distance (H) above the top of the perch which distance (H) is preferably greater than 30 mm. More preferably, the distance (H) is less than or approximately equal to 70 mm, more preferably still within the range of 40-60 mm, and still more preferably between 45 and 55 mm. In a preferred form, the distance (H) is approximately 50 mm.
Preferably, the diameter of the aperture is approximately 4 mm. Preferably the diameter of the perch is approximately 4 mm.
In a preferred form a plurality of perches and associated apertures are provided in a single bird feeder. More preferably, the perches lie on a spiral line about the body of the bird feeder which is preferably cylindrical. Also the apertures can lie on a spiral line preferably parallel to the line of perches. An aperture can be placed on either or both sides of the perch. In one form the offset distance (S) is the same for both apertures. In another form one aperture is offset more than the other, preferably the difference is offset between 5 and 20 mm and more preferably in the order of 10 mm.
In another form the diagonal separation (R) between the perch and the aperture is in the order of 40 to 60 mm and more preferably about 50 mm.